Exoskeleton to stop tremor of people with Parkinson

Medicine is making huge steps with new technologies. Imperial College London has made an exoskeleton hand that weighs 350 grams (0.77 pounds) only and is able to calm down the tremors that are caused by Parkinson's disease. The arm is 3D-printed with two servomotors, gyroscope and accelerometer added. These sensors are able to recognize the rhythmic shake of the patient's arm caused by the illness and an intentional movement. Because of these detections, it is able to counteract them and support the intentional movements. For now, the accuracy of the system is about 70 per cent and it should quell some basic shakes.

 

 

Therefore, the patients should not have problems with drinking or pointing. The researchers want to improve their exoskeleton hand in order to support even finer movements like writing or typing. There exist already similar hands but this one can be turned on only when it is needed. If the patient does not need to smooth his movements, it can be turned off in order to lower power consumption and save energy. If the smooth movement is needed, he can turn the hand on and it will stabilize his motions. So far, this is only prototype and not the real product.

 

Source: spectrum.ieee.org